south of france
 

my girlfriend and I, both in our late 60's, are planning to be outside of Nice for a week at the end of June. We will use that as a base to visit reachable driving spots in that area. We would then like to spend another week to visit the artistic sites ie, arles, aix en provence etc. I would like to use Aix en Provence as a base. Will this give me the opportunity to make day trips to some of these other towns?

You might want to take a look at my trip reports. One deals with the Provence going to Nice, and the other with Arles and the area around there. Click on my name to find them (Arles and Nice in the titles identify them). I would either stay in a town like Arles (e4asier to get out of then Aix, or in a smaller town in the back of Avignon. In my mind, Aix in on the edge of the area with the better known villages of the Provence.

I would not use Aix as a base to visit the other popular sites in Provence. It is not close enough to them, as Michael has noted. Avignon is much more centrally located. If you want a central but smaller town that's easier to get in & out than Avignon - try St Remy.

Stu Dudley

Agree with Stu..just did the same in itinerary last summer and St Remy was a good base and a great place to come back at night and wander and have dinner. They also have a wonderful ( and very crowded) market on Wednesdays.

I think St Remy is a perfect place to stay if you wn to visit the Camargue and the perche villages.

Thank you all for your insightful information. Am now looking for hotels in St. Remy

I would also vote for St Remy from where you can tour around easily and get to many places (aix is only 1hr away).
See : http://saintremydeprovencetourism.bl...aint-remy.html
Hope this will help